Quick summary: I made an accessible child theme for the default WordPress Twenty Twelve theme. Read on for details. Accessibility in WordPress I recently switched my blog over to WordPress — self-hosted to give me more control. So far I’m impressed, especially with the number of plugins and themes available, but I was a bit surprised at the lack of themes that claim to … Continue reading Accessible Child Theme for WordPress Twenty Twelve
How to Convert Videos to WebM With FFmpeg/AVConv
After lots of trial and error each time I convert a video to WebM, I finally got around to posting this so I don’t forget next time. In a nutshell, here’s the conversion command that works for me: avconv -i myvideo.mp4 -acodec libvorbis -aq 5 -ac 2 -qmax 25 -threads 2 myvideo.webm What is this … Continue reading How to Convert Videos to WebM With FFmpeg/AVConv
Web API Design: A Definitive Guide
“Web API” is a confusing term. It can refer to interfaces to be implemented by web software such as browsers, for example the W3C geolocation API, etc. It can also refer to how a web service exposes its data, and it’s in this context that Brian Mulloy has written what I hope will become the bible of REST-based … Continue reading Web API Design: A Definitive Guide
UPnP Cheatsheet (and Brief Overview)
In playing with UPnP and JavaScript (now possible thanks to the Network Service Discovery API), I’ve been trying to grasp how UPnP works and what’s possible with it. The potential of the technology is exciting but there seems to be a lack of basic, easy-to-digest information. So here you go — a simple cheatsheet for the main … Continue reading UPnP Cheatsheet (and Brief Overview)
Song: Social Network B ♪
I want to introduce my child to online social networks but how best to explain some of the risks involved? Thought I’d start with a song… This is a rewrite of the traditional folk song “Sloop John B”, famously covered by the Beach Boys (www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSAoEf1Ib58) although Cap’n Tom Jones deserves a mention for his singing … Continue reading Song: Social Network B ♪
Privacy-respecting Social Media “Share” Buttons
Sometimes you want a “share” link in your website or email newsletter but you don’t want the extra JavaScript and iframes that come with the standard social media buttons. Here’s how to do it, giving your users faster page loading times and a bit more privacy. Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest Google+ Hatena Bookmarks Twitter Firstly … Continue reading Privacy-respecting Social Media “Share” Buttons
How to Wipe a Hard Drive With Linux
I have an old hard drive I want to throw away but I don’t want any remaining photos, financial documents or other personal data getting in the wrong hands. In other words, I want to completely and securely wipe the drive. With Linux there are several options and after a bit of research, here’s what … Continue reading How to Wipe a Hard Drive With Linux
Readability for Android
So you want Readability bookmarklets on your Android device, huh? Not so fast! At the time of writing, it’s not possible to access the official Readability bookmarklets on Android but there is a workaround. Here’s how to do it in three easy steps. Step 1: Copy the Readability script In Opera Mobile or Mini (I don’t think this works … Continue reading Readability for Android
Free HTML5 Template
After being asked for a bit of advice by a colleague, I decided to make a very simple starter template for creating an HTML5 page. You can download it here: Download HTML5 template Notes The tricky part is making sure it works in older browsers, for which I used the following two steps: 1. Normalize.css(Click on … Continue reading Free HTML5 Template
On Vendor Prefixes — An Interview With Dr. Stanley Dards
At last, the existence of vendor prefixes, one of my pet peeves, is under the spotlight. Also at last, the fact that not all modern browsers are WebKit (shock!) is getting some attention. I (personally) believe vendor prefixes cause more harm than the problem they were designed to solve, namely how to elegantly introduce experimental … Continue reading On Vendor Prefixes — An Interview With Dr. Stanley Dards
Daniemon's Blog 